Rebirth of the eldest daughter

Chapter 1347 Court trial confrontation ()

Fan Zhongqian's heart was still beating hard.

The bones of men of letters are soft, so soft that if they are struck by a sword, they will be defeated.

The bones of a literati are also hard, so hard that they can die calmly in front of thousands of troops.

The difference between softness and hardness lies in whether you have faith.

When Fan Zhongqian was in the cell, he was sure that the other party had no evidence and he would not be punished for this.

So even if Zhang Jingkun is a notoriously cruel official, he can withstand all kinds of torture at Zhang Jingkun's hands.

He has faith in his heart.

His faith is the background behind him.

What he relies on is that he is always careful not to leave any evidence.

However, he did not expect the sudden attack of the young man just now.

Without any psychological preparation, he still exposed his greed for life and fear of death at the critical moment.

Furthermore, the people he looked down upon were deviating from his expectations little by little; and the people also reacted violently and unexpectedly.

Things are gradually getting out of control, and his psychological defense is slowly crumbling.

That's why he was so frightened.

Before he could recover, Liu Yao's words began to fall down like beads:

"In Ye Qingqing's case, it is a certainty that you accepted benefits and bent the law for personal gain. I will not waste too much time on you, so I will focus on the parts that have not yet been mentioned."

"As for your second crime of dereliction of duty, your subordinate officials embezzled life-saving supplies for the victims. You have pleaded guilty and paid a deposit. However, the crime of bribery related to this case has not been mentioned yet."

"After the flood, corruption became prevalent in Jiangbei, and seven of the main officials have pleaded guilty and are facing justice!"

"These seven guilty officials confessed, and the stolen goods were transported by merchants, and finally hidden in the warehouse of the Licheng court, waiting for the right time to sell them."

"Counselor Bai led the garrison to search out the embezzled stolen goods from the imperial court's warehouse, which completely confirmed what the seven guilty officials said."

"Pingcang and Yicang are important storage areas for the imperial court, but merchants can help criminals hide stolen goods in them. This is due to the convenience you provide."

As he spoke, Liu Yao suddenly slapped the gavel.

Fan Zhongqian was shocked.

Liu Yao's harsh words hit his head and face:

"Fan Zhongqian! I now accuse you of accepting benefits from merchants and giving convenience to merchants, causing them to hide stolen goods in the warehouse in Licheng! Do you agree?!"

Fan Zhongqian stared at the ground and was silent for a moment. As if he had made up his mind, he quickly kowtowed to Liu Yao:

"Your Highness! In the case of Ye Qingqing, I accepted the benefits, but I am willing to be punished! However, this matter has nothing to do with me. Please tell me clearly!"

Liu Yao sat upright: "It doesn't matter? Several officials and the merchants involved have admitted that they bribed you with silver coins. It is clear when and how much they bribed you! The witnesses are complete, do you want to deny it?!"

Fan Zhongqian seemed to have been greatly wronged. He screamed at the top of his lungs: "Your Highness! This matter has nothing to do with me! If there is even half a lie! I will die without a burial place!"

"Sophistry!" Liu Yao raised his voice, "In addition to the confessions between the criminals and the merchants, Tang Jun, the clerk who managed the warehouse account books, also pointed out that it was you who issued the order to help them accomplish their task! You are still making quibbles!"

"In addition, Tang Jun also confessed that the prince of Dingbeihou, Yu Jianling, almost found out about this! Then you ordered Tang Jun to kill the prince Yu Jianling and several officials!"

"The life of Prince Dingbei should not have been cut off. He saved one life, but the remaining officials were thrown off the cliff and lost their news! No one alive or dead, no corpse!"

"More than a dozen people have testified against you! You are still talking shamelessly in front of me! Saying that you are innocent! You simply don't know what to say!"

Fan Zhongqian changed his arrogant attitude and banged his head: "Your Highness, the guilty minister was wronged! He was wronged!"

Liu Yao looked past Fan Zhongqian and met Bai Mingwei's eyes.

Bai Mingwei nodded slightly. It was obvious that Fan Zhongqian's cruel trick was what they expected.

Zhang Jingkun noticed the eye contact between the two and raised his lips slightly. He looked away, with countless emotions flowing in his eyes.

Liu Yao interrupted Fan Zhongqian's cry of injustice: "You're wronged! Since you are complaining against me, then bring out evidence to prove your innocence!"

"Otherwise, the crime of accepting bribes, bending the law for personal gain, and murdering Prince Yu and several court officials will be finalized and you will have no defense!"

Fan Zhongqian shouted quickly: "Your Highness, the guilty minister has no evidence, but the guilty minister can swear that someone is definitely deliberately framing this matter! Slandering the minister!"

"Even though I have made mistakes during my years in office, I will never let corrupt officials and profiteers hide their stolen goods in the imperial warehouse!"

"Someone must have accepted bribes from officials in the name of the guilty minister, and falsely passed on the guilty minister's orders, which contributed to this incident!"

"If your Highness doesn't believe it! You can go and turn the guilty minister's mansion and property upside down. The guilty minister will guarantee with the lives of his entire family that there is absolutely no bribery gained from this incident. Please tell me clearly!"

Liu Yao leaned back, thoughtful.

Fan Zhongqian switched to the bitter meat tactic to pave the way for this long sequence, just to elicit the last sentence.

Of course he knew it deep down.

He was silent for a moment, and under Fan Zhongqian's sincere and expectant eyes, Liu Yao changed the topic: "Seeing that you are so confident in what you said, I believe there is something fishy about this matter."

"But words are useless, Fan Zhongqian, as an official of the imperial court, you should know that you should speak with evidence and not make things out of thin air!"

Speaking of this, Liu Yao stopped talking.

But he didn't push it either.

Zhang Jingkun moved his body: "Fan Zhongqian, don't take any chances. Just one crime of dereliction of duty is enough for you to be dismissed from office! You may even lose your head!"

"If you don't tell the truth and the law is ruthless, your whole family will suffer! I will be lenient if you confess. You must confess truthfully for the sake of your family even if you don't care about yourself!"

Fan Zhongqian did not speak immediately.

There was no panic in his eyes hidden in the shadows.

This was a very serious accusation, and it was obvious that he would never admit it.

Moreover, being cautious and careful, he was certainly well prepared and already had a way to break the situation.

So, he pretended to think hard, and then implemented his plan: "Your Highness, the guilty subject has no substantial evidence for the time being, but the guilty subject has reasonable doubts. Please listen to the guilty subject."

Liu Yao nodded: "Just tell me!"

Fan Zhongqian gritted his teeth and then said: "Your Highness, the guilty minister suspects that this matter was done by Tang Jun, a junior official."

Liu Yao chuckled: "Nonsense! Tang Jun is just a ninth-grade official. How can he control everything under your nose? You are talking nonsense! What a load of nonsense!"

Fan Zhongqian said quickly: "Your Highness, the guilty minister is not talking nonsense! Tang Jun's official position is not big, and his scope of authority is not as broad as that of the chief bookkeeper, but he is in charge of the account books of the imperial warehouse. It is definitely not difficult for him to operate in it!"

"Please also ask Your Highness to thoroughly investigate Tang Jun! The guilty minister can be sure that Your Highness will definitely have unexpected gains!"

Liu Yao frowned: "Are you really sure? Fan Zhongqian, the matter is of great importance, ranging from the death of a person's head to the death of a whole family. Your suspicion must be well-founded, otherwise it will be a disregard for human life! Framing innocent people!"

Fan Zhongqian immediately kowtowed and spoke loudly: "The guilty minister can be sure!"

His voice was so convincing and confident.

It can be seen that Tang Jun is the scapegoat.

That is, the key to whether he can escape guilt.

Hearing Fan Zhongqian's solemn reply, Liu Yao's lips curved into a secretive arc.

He winked at Bai Yu.

Bai Yu nodded, immediately stood up and walked towards the back hall.

Fan Zhongqian was a little suspicious, and then an unknown cold came out.

(End of this chapter)